Roadtrip2eng

Roadtrip Week 2

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25.6My second attempt at picking up Max in Bergamo. This time successful. Max got to his flight on time, but he didn’t stick to our „handluggage only“ policy. With suitcases in our laps we made our way back to Comer Lake. Like a real man he did not even give any complain that it is umcomfortable tob e traveling like this. Kudos!

You have probably heard how much I romanticised with Comer Lake in my last blogpost. That is why we changed plans and rented an AirBnB for four nights instead of just 1-2 nights.

25/26/27.6.
As we arrived at our AirBnB, they offered us an upgrade. Instead oft he small, dark room on ground-floor, we were offered the loft on the highest level with direct view of the lake and a pretty nice balcony. As many asked, here the link for the AirBnB: https://de.airbnb.com/rooms/756030

How could I possibly say no to that? Negotiations did not go so well though. I want to say it might be a bad move to drive up in a white convertible when you want to haggle the price only 10-15 Euros down. No matter how I tried to talk the landlord down a couple bucks, his answer was always, laughing stridently „You drive here in a fancy sportscar – You have enough money to pay the whole price“… In general I am pretty good at negotiating, but this Italian bloke was like a wall, no coming through. Next time I should probably park my car somewhere further away or go there by bike.

Enough of the story-telling. The first day we visited the town Sala Comacina and stayed there for dinner. After this Max already went to bed as he got up at 5 am that day so he does not miss another flight. This way I finally had the time to write another blogpost! And I did this very comfortably on the balcony with a view oft he lake in darkness and the bright localities around it.

The second day we took a trip north by car along the lake. A phenomenal experience. Countless mansions and castles were lining up alongside the water.

Comer Lake – historically wealthy through silk trade – was and still is home for the rich and beautiful. Hollywood actors, many policitians and prominence oft he economy sector all are proud owners of summer mansions here.

Even though we do not belong to any oft he afore mentioned groups, everybody can get a feeling of this dolce vita through AirBnB and other appartment/hotel offerings nowadays.

Along the way weh ad a late breakfast on a bench right next tot he lake.

We were basically just drinving around with the convertible all day with many stops in between to look at all the place we deemed interesting. Vainly we searched for a nice entrance tot he water though, the only bad thing that comes to my mind when thinking about the time I spent there.

In the evening it was leisure time again! Wes at on the couch with an opened balcony door and our feet dangling out. Very very cool. Perfect spot to write a blogpost.

The third day we unfortunately had bad weather. Till midday there was a storm with heavy rain. In the afternoon it cleared up and we decided to go to the very north of Comer Lake. Here you find, among others, the mansion in which James Bond: Casino Royale was filmed.

28.6. The fourth day we slept in and started driving to Nizza at around 11 am. We decided to take the fast track, which unfortunately included highway toll (Autobahn). All together a boring commute with no landscapes to look at along the Autobahn. One excitement arose nevertheless. Suddenly it started raining, which concluded into a fullborn storm with hail within 15 minutes. Not a nice thing if you drive with an open top. My theory that rain doe not get into the cockpit when driving more than 120 km an hour was proven tob e right. Not so much with hail. We made a quick halt at the next motorway station to close this and got on with our trip „only“ wet-headed. The hail turned so bad that, along with 50 other cars and trucks, we took shelter under a bridge filling 3 lanes of the 5 lane motorway. 15 minutes later the storm was over and we could continue our trip.

In Nizza we spontaneously rented another AirBnB close the the port. In the afternoon we had a little time left to look at the city and take a couple of pictures. After this we wandered through the city some more and went to bed early.

29.6. Originally we planned on getting up at 7 am to go tot he beach. On of us did not hold up his part oft he bargain, so I used the time for some last-minute organizational stuff for Montpellier and around 9 am we then drove tot he beah. Finally at the beach! For the first time this trip. After a swim workout Max and I took a nap for about 1-2 hours after which we got up with surprising new energy. Back in Nizza, we spend the night having a fancy dinner after which we wanted to check out the bar scene. Our landlady was barkeeper and offered us a special price – Happy Hour all night long. Fortunately we asked for the check after the first tiny mojito which would cost 15 Euros. A not so happy hour in the end…

Such stuff happens.

30.6. The next day we went to Montpellier early.

We arrived here around 30 mins late in my new appartment/flat share fort he next month. The appartment was not the best, but the location is awesome! The apparment is in the centre oft he city with a balcony. Yes. I can make it here for a month.

As there was no stuff in my room other than a bed and a desk, I first of all had to get bed sheets, pillows etc. Sentimentally we had Ti-Punch like on Martinique after which which went to explore the town.

01.07. A dumb idea.. Tired-out, we both were in a bad mood the next day, but we still drove around a little and say a vineyard, a castle and a beach.

At 10:30 pm we already went to bed as we intended to start driving at 5 am to give back the beloved car. This had to happen in Freiburg, as the german Fiat had to be returned in Germany.

02.07. Two coffee and a 7 hour drive later we arrived in Freiburg, I gave back the car and said goodbye to Max. Max took the train back to Bremen and I took a train right back to Montpellier. Now I am sitting here thinking: „It was a bad idea to give the car back in Germany“, but still a day to remember..

Tomorrow will be my first day of work in Montpellier and I am a little excited ;). Everything will turn out fine though. Only problem is that I still lack charm when speaking french.

In this matter: If you ever have the chance to do a radtrip in a convertible, you should take the shot! It was a very exciting trip with all along positive impressions and a bunch of fun!

I liked the country roads much better than Autobahn, which are boring with no sight of nature.

The best part oft he trip/vacations was definitely the time in northern Italy! Concerning the route, the part between Allgäu and northern Italy through the mountains was the very best. If you should only have limited time, you should definitely do this part! Northern Italy and the mountain passes! Yes… I am pretty smitten with this area.

A big thanks to Fiat fort he positive reaction to my unprompted idea oft he roadtrip. Tahnk you so much fort he support in form of a car! It was phenomenal!

For those of you who are super interested and want to relive the trip via instagram stories – Here’s a compilation of all instagram stories I posted throughout the weeks of my roadtrip.